June 20, 2005
Not an official count, but Notable:
Brief butterfly update. Yesterday and today I observed the largest number of American Ladies near the house and off Pine Mt. Rd since we moved here. Yesterday, I watched a female lay eggs on some of the Oriental Poppy plants in two of our flower beds. I broke off one leaf and observed the egg under the microscope. My references do not list poppy as a larval food host for either the painted or American Lady. If and when the egg hatches I will watch to see if the larva will eat poppy.
In the past two days I have seen a Hobomok and a Dun Skipper on our flowers. Today there was a group of five tigers on wet soil near the garage and another one flying nearby and a female clouded sulphur. This afternoon, on a trip to Pine Mt. Road I saw lots of crescents (northern) for the first time this year, a Milbert's, a Dun Skipper, a possible Northern Dusky Wing, a Common Ringlet, a few tigers, two mourning cloaks, several silvery checkerspots and lots of greenish blues. Apparently greenish blues have emerged since my last visit and are now more common than silvery blues. I checked to be sure that the checkerspots weren't either Harris' or the Gorgone checkerspot.
The numbers of most species (except the American Lady) this year remain low to very low and several, e.g. Compton Tortoiseshell, Monarchs and Tawny Edged Skippers have not been seen. However, things seem to be slowly improving. I hope some will still be around for the July 9th Count. Dave
-------------------------
June 25, 2005
On Saturday June 25 we conducted our 3rd annual Moose Lake State Park NABA butterfly
count. Kerry Carter, Foster Gilliland, Gail Gilliland, and Marilyn Miller joined
me in the festivities. The weather was perfect for butterflying: sunny, 0-5
mph wind, temp's in the high 70's. We saw the following adult butterflies:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 3
Western Tailed-Blue - 1
Spring Azure - 1
Atlantis Fritillary - 1
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1
Silvery Checkerspot - 5
Harris' Checkerspot - 1
Northern Crescent - 16
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 1
White Admiral - 7
Northern Pearly-eye - 2
Little Wood-Satyr - 3
Common Ringlet - 5
Monarch - 19
Arctic skipper - 2
European skipper - 6
Hobomok skipper - 2
Dun skipper - 4
18 species, 80 individuals. We also spotted 1 Monarch egg, 3 1st instars, 6 2nd instars, and 4 3rd instars (all on Common Milkweed). (As a comparison, last year on June 19 we saw 76 individuals of 15 species, including only 6 Monarchs.)
Thanks to all who attended. I will send an email in the near future regarding our next count of the season.
Happy butterflying,
Jim Phillips
-------------------------
July 4, 2005
The 5th annual Bear Trap Junction NABA butterfly count took place in Saginaw
on Monday July 4. A big "Thank You" goes to John & Pat Thomas
and Foster & Gail Gilliland for joining in. Skies were partly sunny, temperatures
were in the mid and high 70's, and the showers stayed away. We saw the following
adult butterflies:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 5
Clouded Sulphur - 4
Atlantis Fritillary - 1
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 3
Harris' Checkerspot - 1
Northern Crescent - 16
Baltimore Checkerspot - 1
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 4
American Lady - 2
Red Admiral - 2
White Admiral - 7
Northern Pearly-eye - 7
Eyed Brown - 6
Common Ringlet - 4
Monarch - 7
European skipper - 25,000 (Est.)
Tawny-edged skipper - 1
Long Dash skipper - 1
Hobomok skipper - 2
Dun skipper - 1
Total of 20 species. Not counting the hordes of European skippers, we tallied 75 individuals.
We also saw lots of catters:
American Lady (on Pearly Everlasting) - 16
Monarch (on Common Milkweed) - 4 eggs, 2 1st instar, 5 2nd instar, 4 3rd instar,
9 4th instar, and 17 big fat 5th instar.
Happy butterflying,
Jim Phillips
-------------------------
July 9, 2005
Dave and Bonnie MacLean's Cook County count near Grand Marais on Saturday July
9!
-------------
July 20, 2005
Our second annual NABA butterfly count at the McNair Site went off successfully
Wednesday July 20 2005. Mother Nature said phooey on the forecast of scattered
thunderstorms, and sent us blue skies with temperatures in the low 80's instead.
Thanks go to Wally Mattson for assisting, and to Foster and Gail Gilliland for joining in and braving the rough terrain. We tallied the following adult butterflies:
Mustard White - 1
Clouded Sulphur - 36
Pink-edged Sulphur - 1
Dorcas Copper - 7
Northern Blue - 21
Greenish Blue - 1
Great Spangled Fritillary - 3
Atlantis Fritillary - 5
Northern Crescent - 5
Gray Comma - 1
Mourning Cloak - 1
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 7
American Lady - 1
Painted Lady - 4
White Admiral - 3
Northern Pearly-eye - 2
Common Ringlet - 2
Common Wood-Nymph - 2
Monarch - 5
European Skipper - 10
Peck's Skipper - 1
Tawny-edged Skipper - 1
Dun Skipper - 3
23 species, 123 individuals. A fun time was had by all!
Remember our counts coming up at Pederson's Gardens on Saturday and Enger Park on Sunday. I will send out more information soon.
Thanks,
Jim Phillips
-------------------------
July 24, 2005
Sunday July 24 we held our Muriel Shirey Memorial butterfly count at Enger Park.
The weather was fine, with temperatures in the mid 80's and mostly sunny skies
with a moderate breeze. Attending were Tim Craig, Lucie Holzemer, Wally Mattson,
Pat Thomas, and yours truly. We tallied the following adult butterflies:
Black Swallowtail - 1
Clouded Sulphur - 2
Coral Hairstreak - 4
Striped Hairstreak - 2
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 1
Painted Lady - 2
White Admiral - 3
Common Wood Nymph - 4
8 species, 19 individuals. (For comparison, we saw 11 species and 32 individuals in 2003, 9 species and 15 individuals in 2004. This is in line with my own counts in my Saginaw neighborhood, where 2003 was a much better year than the last 2.)
Happy Butterflying,
Jim Phillips
(218) 729-4524
-------------------------
July 27, 2005
2nd annual butterfly count at Pederson's Gardens and Anna-Gene Park in Douglas
County, Wisconsin. The weather was great: temperatures in the high 60's to mid
70's, sunny skies, and a moderate breeze.
Thanks go to Chris Bay, Jane Brenny, and Claire Dethmeres for walking the first portion of the count and helping to spot butterflies. Extra thanks goes to Elaine Pohto for walking the entire route and helping to tally those Monarch caterpillars - and for spotting that Monarch chrysalis.
We tallied the following adult butterflies:
Tiger Swallowtail - 1
Cabbage White - 4
Clouded Sulphur - 14
Eastern Tailed-blue - 2
Spring (Summer form) Azure - 4
Great Spangled Fritillary - 1
Atlantis Fritillary - 4
Meadow Fritillary - 2
Baltimore Checkerspot - 1
Gray Comma - 2
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 7
American Lady - 1
Northern Pearly-eye - 2
Common Wood-nymph - 20
Monarch - 5
Tawny-edged Skipper - 1
Dun skipper - 4
17 species, 75 individuals.
The common milkweed at Anna-Gene Park looked much better this year. We counted the following early stages of Monarchs there: egg 2, 1st instar 3, 2nd instar 6, 3rd instar 3, 4th instar 3, 5th instar 5, chrysalis 1.
Thank you to everyone who attended our NABA counts this summer. And, thank you a second time for your fee donations to NABA.
I'm looking forward to seeing you at our counts in 2006. Until then,
Happy Butterflying,
Jim Phillips
---------------------------------------------------------------
June 10, 2006
We held our 4th annual Boulder Lake Management Area butterfly count on Saturday
June 10. The weather was more accommodating this year: sun 80-90%, temperatures
56-63 degrees F, wind easterly at 5-15 mph.
Thanks go to Tim & Paul Craig, Foster & Gail Gilliland, Tom Jordan, Wally Mattson, and John & Pat Thomas for helping spot and identify. We saw the following adult butterflies:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 29
Spring Azure - 2
Silvery Checkerspot – 1
Northern Crescent – 4
Green Comma – 3
Mourning Cloak - 2
American Lady - 1
White Admiral – 4
Little Wood-Satyr – 5
Common Ringlet - 1
Monarch - 17
Dreamy Duskywing Skipper - 6
Arctic Skipper - 3
Hobomok Skipper – 17
Black Dash Skipper - 1
15 species, 96 individuals. Along with the good number of Monarch adults, we also saw 100+ eggs on Common Milkweed, plus 78 Monarch caterpillars including 26 4th instars. The season does seem to be starting off well.
Jim Phillips
(218) 729-4524
-----------------------------------
June 24, 2006
On Saturday June 24 we conducted our 4th annual Moose Lake State Park NABA butterfly
count. Weather conditions were: sun 10%-90%, temperatures 72-78 degrees F, wind
easterly at 0-10 mph.
Thanks go to Tim Craig, Marilyn Miller, and Wally Mattson for assisting. We saw the following adult butterflies:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 3
Cabbage White – 1
Spring Azure - 1
Atlantis Fritillary – 2
Meadow Fritillary - 1
Silvery Checkerspot - 1
Northern Crescent – 54
Mourning Cloak - 1
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 1
White Admiral - 8
Northern Pearly-eye – 63
Eyed Brown - 1
Little Wood-Satyr - 3
Common Ringlet - 1
Monarch – 29
Northern Cloudywing skipper - 1
Arctic skipper – 1
Least skipper - 1
European skipper – 41
Indian skipper – 1
Peck’s skipper – 2
Long Dash skipper – 3
Hobomok skipper - 2
The 23 species and 222 individuals made for an enjoyable day. We also spotted
1 Monarch egg, 5 1st instars, 6 2nd instars, 1 3rd instar, and 6 4th instars
(all on Common Milkweed). (For comparison, in 2005 on June 25 we saw 80 individuals
of 18 species, including 19 Monarch adults.)
Happy Butterflying,
Jim Phillips
(218) 729-4524
--------------------------------
July 3, 2006
The 6th annual Bear Trap Junction NABA butterfly count took place on Monday
July 3, 2006. Weather conditions were: sun 80%-90%, temperatures 72-80 degrees
F, wind at 0-15 mph. A beautiful day for butterflying.
Thanks go to Tom Jordan, Cathy Leece, Wally Mattson, Marilyn Miller, and Cheryle
Reinertsen for assisting. We saw the following adult butterflies:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 2
Cabbage White – 2
Harvester – 3
Bronze Copper – 2
Eastern Tailed-Blue – 1
Spring Azure – 1
Great Spangled Fritillary – 10
Atlantis Fritillary - 18
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 11
Silvery Checkerspot - 2
Northern Crescent - 44
Baltimore Checkerspot – 11
Question Mark – 1
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 4
White Admiral - 11
Northern Pearly-eye - 12
Eyed Brown – 22
Common Wood-Nymph - 7
Monarch - 14
European skipper - 33,000 (Est.)
Indian skipper - 3
Peck’s skipper - 3
Dun skipper - 7
Total of 23 species. Besides the clouds of European skippers, we tallied 191 individuals.
We also saw some Monarch caterpillars on Common Milkweed: 2 2nd instar, 1 3rd
instar, 12 4th instar, and 2 5th instar.
Happy Butterflying,
Jim Phillips
729-4524
-------------------------------
July 8, 2006
Grand Marais Butterfly Count at Dave and Bonnie's
July 15, 2006
Our 3rd annual McNair Site butterfly count took place on Saturday July 15, 2006.
Weather conditions were: sun 100% (and then some), temperatures 83-95 degrees
F, wind at 5-15 mph. The steady breeze plus lots of drinking water made the
day go alright.
Thanks go to Tim Craig, Wally Mattson, Tanya Peyton, and Dan Ryan from the Forest Service for assisting. We saw the following adult butterflies:
Cabbage White - 1
Pink-edged Sulphur - 16
Dorcas Copper - 1
Coral Hairstreak - 2
Spring Azure - 2
Northern Blue - 12
Greenish Blue - 8
Atlantis Fritillary - 7
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1
Meadow Fritillary - 1
Freija Fritillary - 3
Northern Crescent - 9
White Admiral - 2
Northern Pearly-eye - 1
Common Wood-Nymph - 4
Monarch - 3
European Skipper - 29
Peck's Skipper - 3
Dun Skipper - 17
19 species, 122 individuals. Even with the heat it was an enjoyable count.
Happy Butterflying,
Jim Phillips
729-4524
--------------------------------
Saturday July 22 2006
Our Muriel Shirey Memorial butterfly count at Enger Park took place on Saturday
July 22, 2006. Weather conditions were: sun 50%-99%, temperatures 72-75 degrees
F, wind 5-12 mph.
A special “Thank You” goes to Pat Thomas and Wally Mattson for
leading this count. Also attending were Greg Bonovetz, Tom Jordan, Marilyn Miller,
and John Thomas. They tallied the following adult butterflies:
Black Swallowtail – 3
Cabbage White – 1
Spring (Summer form) Azure – 2
White Admiral – 2
Monarch – 1
European skipper – 1
Dun skipper – 5
7 species, 15 individuals. (For comparison, we saw 11 species and 32 individuals
in 2003, 9 species and 15 individuals in 2004, 8 species and 19 individuals
in 2005.) Pat reported that extremely dry conditions were obvious this year.
Thank you to all who attended our counts this summer, and thank you a second
time for your fee donations to NABA. I’m already looking forward to seeing
you at our counts in 2007. Until then,
Happy Butterflying,
Jim Phillips
(218) 729-4524
------------------------
Saturday July 22 2006
we conducted our 3rd annual NABA butterfly count at Pederson's Gardens and Anna-Gene
Park in Douglas County, Wisconsin. Weather conditions were: sun 95-99%, temperatures
74-80 degrees F, wind 0-15 mph.
Approximately 15 people joined in for the first portion of the walk around Pederson’s grounds. We saw 12 species in this relatively small area; a very nice showing by our little winged friends. Thanks go to Avery Haak and Elaine Pohto for continuing on the walk portion along the gravel road and helping to spot butterflies.
We tallied the following adult butterflies:
Black Swallowtail - 3
Cabbage White - 12
Clouded Sulphur - 7
Eastern Tailed-blue - 2
Spring (Summer form) Azure – 1
Variegated Fritillary - 1
Great Spangled Fritillary - 8
Atlantis Fritillary – 3
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1
Meadow Fritillary - 2
Milbert's Tortoiseshell - 3
Viceroy – 1
Common Wood-nymph - 6
Monarch – 4
European Skipper – 2
Peck’s Skipper - 2
Dun skipper – 23
17 species, 81 individuals. (In 2005 we saw 17 species and 75 individuals.) My favorite for the day was the Variegated Fritillary; I believe it’s been 3 years since I’ve seen one of these very attractive butterflies in our area.
The common milkweed at Anna-Gene Park was in good condition, but I spotted only 2 Monarch eggs and no instars.
Happy Butterflying,
Jim Phillips
729-4524
------------------------------------------------
2007
June 9, 2007 Our 5th annual Boulder Lake Management Area butterfly count on Saturday June 9 was a good one. Weather conditions were: sun 30-70%, temperatures 70-77 degrees F, wind southerly at 0-15 mph. A nice day for a hike.
A special “Thanks” to Kerry & Marilyn Carter, John Green, Tom Jordan, Wally Mattson, Jerry McCormick, and John & Pat Thomas for helping to spot and identify butterflies. We saw the following adults:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail – 38
Clouded Sulphur – 3
Orange Sulphur – 5
Brown Elfin – 1
Eastern Pine Elfin – 2
Eastern Tailed-Blue - 1
Spring Azure – 4
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 2
Northern Crescent – 5
Eastern Comma - 1
Green Comma – 2
Mourning Cloak - 10
American Lady - 14
Red Admiral – 5
Common Buckeye - 6
Common Ringlet - 1
Monarch - 30
Dreamy Duskywing Skipper – 6
Sleepy Duskywing Skipper – 1
Common Checkered Skipper - 2
Arctic Skipper - 8
Hobomok Skipper – 2
Dun Skipper - 1
23 species and 150 individuals. This compares well with the 15 species and 96
individuals we saw on June 10 last year. Along with the good number of Monarch
adults, we also saw 150+ eggs on Common Milkweed, plus 19 Monarch caterpillars
including 14 2nd instars.
The high point of this count was probably the sighting of Common Buckeyes. This is the first NABA count I have led which tallied this immigrant. 2007 may be an unusual opportunity for you to spot this striking butterfly which, despite its name, is not common this far north.
------------------------
On Saturday June 23 we conducted our 5th annual Moose Lake State Park NABA butterfly count. A “Thank You” goes to Don Del Greco (Moose Lake State Park Ranger), Foster & Gail Gilliland, Wally Mattson, Jerry McCormick, Tanya Peyton, and Doug Stucki for spotting and identifying butterflies. A “Special Thank You” in addition to Jerry McCormick and Doug Stucki for driving all the way from Virginia and St. Cloud, respectively.
The day started out overcast with a temperature of 70 degrees, but we began seeing butterflies right away. Winds were southwesterly at 0-10 mph. Then the sky cleared and temperatures hit 85, with high humidity. We braved the heat, however, and were rewarded with the following tally of adults:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail – 2
Mustard White – 2
Orange Sulphur – 1
Harvester – 1
Eastern Tailed-Blue – 2
Western Tailed-Blue - 1
Spring Azure – 1
Aphrodite Fritillary - 1
Atlantis Fritillary – 1
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1
Silvery Checkerspot - 1
Northern Crescent – 36
Mourning Cloak - 1
Milbert's Tortoiseshell – 2
American Lady - 1
White Admiral – 4
Viceroy - 1
Northern Pearly-eye – 55
Little Wood-Satyr - 12
Common Ringlet - 7
Monarch – 56
Arctic skipper – 3
European skipper – 26
Long Dash skipper – 3
Northern Broken-Dash skipper - 1
Hobomok skipper - 3
26 species, 225 individuals. (For comparison, in 2006 on June 24 we saw 222 individuals of 23 species.) We also saw many Monarch 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th instars.
This is not the first time I have seen Eastern Tailed-Blues and Western Tailed-Blues within a few feet of each other at Moose Lake State Park (every time has been on the southern-most portion of Rolling Hills Trail). Apparently the ranges of these two species meet in the general area of this park.
------------------------
Sunday July 1, 2007
We held the 7th annual Bear Trap Junction NABA butterfly
count on Sunday July 1, 2007, and had a great time. The weather was quite pleasant: hazy-sunny
skies, temperatures 66-72 degrees F, wind 5-15 mph.
Thanks go to Foster and Gail Gilliland, Doreen Hansen, Tom Jordan, and Tanya Peyton for helping to spot butterflies. We tallied the following adults:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 4
Western Tailed-Blue – 1
Great Spangled Fritillary – 2
Atlantis Fritillary - 21
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 6
Harris’ Checkerspot - 2
Northern Crescent - 65
Baltimore Checkerspot – 1
Gray Comma - 1
Milbert's Tortoiseshell – 2
American Lady – 5
Red Admiral - 9
White Admiral – 5
Viceroy - 1
Northern Pearly-eye - 6
Eyed Brown – 7
Little Wood-Satyr - 1
Common Wood-Nymph - 1
Monarch - 14
European Skipper – 7,500 (Estimated)
Peck’s Skipper – 1
Tawny-edged Skipper – 2
Long Dash Skipper– 7
Hobomok Skipper - 1
Dun Skipper – 2]
25 species, 167 individuals (not counting the estimated 7,500 European Skippers). If any of you observers notice a slight change in the numbers, it’s because Tanya and I strolled through the back yard one more time and added a handful of identifications. Also, I revised the Comma I.D. after studying a good photo she had taken.
------------------------
Wed July 4, 2007
On July 4th several rugged individuals participated in a butterfly count at the
Laurentian Divide Recreation Area. I thank Jim Phillips, Diane Torrel,
and Doug Stucki (who drove from St. Cloud !). Among other things we learned
Jim's weakness: blueberries! Sightings included:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail 5
Clouded Sulfur 8
Bronze
Copper 14
Summer
Azure 4
Atlantis Fritillary 9
Silver-Bordered
Fritillary 3
Silvery
Checkerspot 6
Northern
Crescent 44
Baltimore
Checkerspot 3
Question
Mark 1
Compton
Tortoiseshell 1
Mourning
Cloak 4
American
Lady 5
Red
Admiral 1
White
Admiral 11
Northern
Pearly-eye 5
Eyed
Brown 8
Little
Wood-Satyr 10
European
Skippers 125
Tawny-edged
Skipper 2
Long
Dash 1
Hobomok
Skipper 1
Dunn
Skipper 8
------------------------
Saturday July 7, 2007
The following message is from Dave in Grand Marais who organized the
July 7 butterfly count:
Here is the final tally for the July 7, 2007 Cook County Butterfly
Count. The totals were adjusted for the Mourning Cloak and Tawny
Crescent which Bonnie saw while we were at the Pine Mountain Road site
and the Red Admiral I saw Saturday morning. The totals were 20 species
and 108 individuals. Even though the numbers were low for some species,
e.g. the Northern Blue, the Atlantis Fritillary and the White Admiral,
the number of species recorded was up from last year's low of only 14.
Thanks again to Jim, Tanya, Karen Cronquist and Dave and JoAnn Johnson
for participating in the count.
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail - 5
Clouded sulphur - 1
Pink edged Sulphur - 10
Gray Comma - 1
Silvery Checkerspot - 1
Tawny Crescent - 3
Northern Crescent - 32
Atlantis Fritillary - 4
Meadow fritillary - 1
Silver Bordered Fritillary - 1
Mourning Cloak - 3
Red Admiral - 1
Greenish Blue - 13
Northern Blue - 8
White Admiral - 3
Northern Pearly Eye - 9
Monarch - 2
Tawny Edged Skipper - 2
Dun Skipper - 1
European skipper 7
------------------------
Saturday July 14, 2007
Our 4th annual McNair Site butterfly count took place on Saturday July 14, 2007. Weather
conditions were: mostly sunny, temperatures 62-74 degrees F, wind at 5-15 mph.
Thanks go to Wally Mattson and Tanya Peyton for helping to spot and identify butterflies. We saw the following adults:
Clouded Sulphur - 8
Pink-edged Sulphur - 3
Dorcas Copper - 4
Coral Hairstreak - 4
Northern Blue - 5
Greenish Blue – 18
Great Spangled Fritillary - 2
Atlantis Fritillary - 14
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1
Meadow Fritillary - 1
Harris’ Checkerspot - 1
Northern Crescent – 24
Mourning Cloak – 1
American Lady - 2
Northern Pearly-eye – 8
Eyed Brown – 2
Little Wood-Satyr – 1
Common Ringlet - 4
European Skipper - 15
Peck's Skipper – 2
Long Dash – 1
Hobomok Skipper - 2
Dun Skipper – 12
23 species and 135 individuals. (In 2006 we saw 19 species and 122 individuals.)
------------------------
Saturday July 21, 2007
Our 5th annual Muriel Shirey Memorial butterfly count took place at Enger
Park on Saturday July 21, 2007. Weather conditions were: sun 95%, temperatures
75-77 degrees F, wind 0-10 mph.
Thanks go to Greg Bonovetz, John Green, Doreen Hansen, Wally Mattson, Tom Jordan, Tanya Peyton, Jim & Pat Sanders, and Doug Stucki for helping to spot and identify butterflies. We tallied the following adults:
Coral Hairstreak – 4
American Lady – 1
White Admiral – 1
Northern Pearly-eye – 1
Common Wood-Nymph – 4
Peck’s Skipper - 1
Dun Skipper – 2
7 species and 14 individuals. (For comparison, we saw 11 species and 32 individuals in 2003, 9 species and 15 individuals in 2004, 8 species and 19 individuals in 2005, 7 species and 15 individuals in 2006.)
------------------------
On Saturday July 28 2007 we conducted our 4th annual NABA butterfly count at Pederson's Gardens and Anna-Gene Park in Douglas County, Wisconsin. Mother Nature blessed us with mostly sunny skies, temperatures of 76-86 degrees, and a northerly breeze at 0-10 mph.
Thanks go to Tanya Peyton and Elaine Pohto for helping to spot and I.D. butterflies. Another 5 adults and 2 children joined us for the portion of the walk in Pederson’s nursery. We tallied the following adult butterflies:
Cabbage White - 31
Clouded Sulphur – 2
Orange Sulphur – 8
American Copper - 1
Eastern Tailed-blue – 16
Western Tailed-blue - 2
Variegated Fritillary - 2
Great Spangled Fritillary - 19
Atlantis Fritillary – 5
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 1
Meadow Fritillary – 2
Northern Crescent - 1
Milbert's Tortoiseshell – 1
American Lady – 2
Red Admiral - 1
Common Wood-nymph - 5
Monarch – 9
Dun skipper – 33
18 species, 141 individuals. (In 2006 we saw 17 species and 81 individuals.)
I can’t recall ever seeing so many Tailed-blues in a single day. The day’s treat for me, though, was seeing 2 Variegated Fritillaries flying together; I’ve previously never seen more than 1 in an entire season. (Last year’s lone Variegated, by the way, was also at the Pederson’s count.)
The common milkweed at Anna-Gene Park was in great condition. We saw no eggs or catters, but there were 5 very fresh Monarch adults enjoying the nectar.
We had a good turnout at this year’s counts, and we were rewarded with reasonably good numbers of butterflies. Thank you to all who attended our counts this summer, and thank you a second time for your fee donations to NABA.
------------------------
Saturday June 14 2008:
Our 6th annual Boulder Lake Management Area butterfly count took place on Saturday June 14 2008. Weather conditions were: sun 30%, temperatures 62-69 degrees F, wind 0-10 mph.
Thanks go to Tim Craig, Lucie Holzemer, Tom Jordan, Jim Larson (DNR), Wally Mattson, and Tanya Peyton for helping to spot and identify butterflies. We saw the following adults:
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail – 5 (tallied 38 last year)
Checkered White – 1
Mustard White – 1
Pink-edged Sulphur – 1
Harvester – 2
Eastern Pine Elfin – 5
Spring Azure – 8
Silver-bordered Fritillary - 3
Northern Crescent – 2
Milbert’s Tortoiseshell – 1
Painted Lady - 1
Monarch – 7 (tallied 30 last year)
Dreamy Duskywing Skipper – 14
Sleepy Duskywing Skipper – 2
Arctic Skipper - 2
Indian Skipper – 1
Hobomok Skipper – 4
17 species, 60 individuals. Last year on June 9 we tallied 23 species and 150 individuals. Considering our cool, late spring this year, our count was good; we certainly had an enjoyable time!
on Milkweed looked healthy, but we only saw a few Monarch eggs—and no instars. In 2007 we tallied 19 Monarch caterpillars including 14 2nd instars. Once again, apparent evidence of our late spring this year.
Our next count is scheduled for Moose Lake State Park on Saturday June 21. I will send out an e-mail soon with more information. And remember: Dave and Bonnie MacLean’s Cook County/Grand Marais count is planned for June 28.
MONARCH Larval Monitoring
View results http://www.mlmp.org/results/states.asp?state=MN
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WILDONES MN
http://www.d.umn.edu/~wildones/